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Browsing Tags hip extension

Fireside Chat with Nicole Sifuentes – “Running Form: What Matters and What Doesn’t”

November 25, 2020 · by Garrett McLaughlin

Welcome to the Fireside Chat! This series was designed to provides runners and the general population easy to absorb information regarding running mechanics, nutrition, strength training, and injury prevention. As the series progresses, we will cover a myriad of topics and speak with different professionals in the health & running community.

In this 5th edition, we had a great conversation with guest, Nicole Sifuentes. Nicole is a former olympic runner, running coach, and strength & conditioning specialist in Plymouth, Michigan. With such an exceptional background, she shared some high quality content that’s guaranteed to change your perspective on running form and how to see the best results possible moving forward.

Has improving running form been on the top of your mind? Whether you are a new or veteran runner, Nicole gives her take on whether addressing your form should be the first or last priority based on your goals and running experience.

In this Fireside Chat, we covered a variety of topics, including…

Background and experiences (1:38)
Her take on running form (3:30)
Running mechanics that do and do not matter (8:27)
Hierarchy for successful running (17:50)
- Run smart
- Mobility, activation, & self-therapy
- Strength training
- Running form
Q&A (34:50)

Click the video below to instantly watch the replay of this chat!

Did you enjoy this Fireside Chat and are interested in learning more about upcoming segments as well as high quality educational content for runners? If so, click here to join the Ignite Your Run private Facebook group. The Ignite Your Run group is a FREE community for runners to learn and interact in the journey to become the best version of yourself possible. You can also click here to view the resource page containing previous Fireside Chat’s and webinars.

Here are additional resources regarding today’s chat and how to learn more about Coach Nicole Sifuentes.

Website: www.sifuentescoaching.com
Email: Nicole@sifuentescoaching.com

Thanks for watching!

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Self-Assessing Gluteal Function

April 9, 2019 · by Garrett McLaughlin

Article written on April 8th, 2019 at 03:23pm | Follow Garrett on Facebook and Instagram |

The gluteals are comprised of 3 muscles at the posterolateral aspect of the hip. These muscles include the gluteus maximus, gluteus medius, and gluteus minimus. Due to their location and connection between the pelvis, sacrum, and femur, they function in hip extension, abduction, external rotation, and internal rotation. But, they are also important from a stabilization standpoint, as they prevent hip internal rotation and help to align the lower limb during single leg stance and running.

I bet, at one time or another, you have heard how important these muscles are for everyday movements, athletics, and running. But, have you ever performed any type of assessment to truly test their integrity? If not, I have a very simple self-assessment that you can complete in 60-seconds or less. It’s called the hip bridge with straight leg raise.

How to perform the hip bridge with straight leg raise…

Lay on your back with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor
Lift up your hips to assume a hip bridge position
Extend one leg at the knee joint so the thighs remain level but you are supporting from one side
Hold this position for 20-30 seconds
Assess if one of the following things happened:
1. Inability to raise the hips up to the point where the knees, hips, and shoulders are in a straight line
2. The pelvis rotated and the non-weight bearing side dropped closer to the ground
3. The hamstring on the support side became very tight and/or cramped during the test
4. You were unable to hold this position for a minimum of 20-seconds
Now, complete the same assessment on the other side
Record the results and compare left to right

Take a second to watch the following video on how to self-assess the gluteals…

Because the gluteals play a variety of roles around the hip, this self-assessment could have shown you poor stabilization, hamstring dominance, poor neuromuscular control, gluteal weakness, or all of the above. Once you have improved the weak link(s), the next step is to build overall strength, stability, and endurance with a structured and progressive lifting program. This area can never be too strong and resilient!

If you found any issues with the self-assessment outlined in today’s article, I highly recommend reaching out to a knowledgeable healthcare professional who can help you create an action plan to see reliable results. Please click here to contact me directly if you have questions or want to work more closely together to find a solution.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

[The Hips Don’t Lie Series] 3 Drills to Improve Hip Neuromuscular Activation

November 27, 2017 · by Garrett McLaughlin

The hips are such a vital area when it comes to everyday movements and athletics. That is why I wanted to devote an entire series on exploring related topics concerning maintaining optimal performance and resilience. Even if you think, “my hips are fine, I don’t need this,” please realize that the hips have a big impact on the knee, lower body mechanics and lumbar spine health. Therefore, I cannot overstate their importance!

In today’s video, and future videos, we will go more in-depth about self-assessment, flexibility, neuromuscular activation, strength vs. stability, and multi-planar movement. Be sure to click here first and watch ‘The Hips Don’t Lie Series’ Trailer. I hope you enjoy the content! And, please comment below with any questions or comments.

Hip neuromuscular activation is a topic I talk about a lot. Essentially, it’s the connection between the nervous system and a muscle or group of muscles.

What I notice at the hips is that people are strong. I see this by them deadlifting a lot of weight or pushing heavy sleds. But, when I put them on the table and manual muscle test gluteal strength (hip abduction/extension), they often cannot hold against my resistance. Why is that?

In that situation, instead of focusing more on increasing strength to withstand my resistance, I like to take more of a lower level, activation approach. This means teaching them how to fully connect with and feel the glutes firing during certain movements. This approach, followed by re-testing the weak test, typically yields a noticeable increase in strength. And, with what we know about strength, there is no way that happened in the quick, 60-90 second intervention we carried out.

Click the video below to learn 3 of my favorite drills to progressively improve hip neuromuscular activation:

Be sure to key an eye out for more videos in ‘The Hips Don’t Lie’ series.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Hip Extension and It’s Impact on Lower Back Health

September 23, 2017 · by Garrett McLaughlin

Article written on September 23rd, 2017 at 10:33am | Follow Garrett on Facebook and Instagram |

The hip is a pivotal joint that plays a big role in function of the lower back. Oftentimes, lack of hip extension due to poor flexibility and/or weakness can predispose the body to lower back pain and injury. From another perspective, lack of anti-extension (abdominals/obliques) core control and pelvic positioning will cause the back to be forced into extension during extension of the hip. All of this is undesirable when it comes to health of the spine.

In the video below, I explain how hip extension impacts the lower back. But first, let’s appreciate how mobility and stability must work together to create an optimal environment…

During hip extension, as in basic hip strengthening exercises, walking, and running, the core must reflexively fire to stabilize the pelvis. I often see people in the gym working on glute strengthening with no regard to spine position.

When you extend the hip to a certain point, especially when done forcefully and/or without respecting it’s end-range of motion, the lower back has to extend and the pelvis tips anteriorly to allow this motion. Over time, hyperextension of the hip can lead to increased compressive forces at the lumbar spine and injury. See the picture below as an example of forcing hip extension and how the back is impacted.

Notice how the lower back changes, from more of a neutral and natural curvature at the start, to hyperextension at the finish? This occurs either due to creating false extension of the hip where the lower back is assisting the leg being lifted. Or, poor spinal stabilization and lack of anti-extension core stability, thus leading to excessive lumbar extension.

Take a second to watch the following video. I highly recommend you take notice next time you perform any hip extension movements. Can you isolate the hip while still respecting the positioning of the pelvis and lower back? This is an important concept to reduce the incidence of lower back pain and to also get more from your hips.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Exercise of the Month: Hip Hinge

September 14, 2015 · by Garrett McLaughlin

| Article written on September 13th, 2015 at 5:30pm | Follow Garrett on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram |

Teaching the body how to hinge at the hips is essential in promoting proper function and reducing unwanted stress through the lumbar spine. It is common for many people with low back pain to be unable to differentiate hip and spine movement. That is why teaching proper hip hinging is important.

The hip hinge is a very basic, but challenging movement. From sitting for long periods of time and improper training, we often lack proper hip extension. The inability for the gluteus maximus to produce extension due to neural inhibition is called gluteal amnesia. Before performing movements such as the hip hinge, we must first learn to activate the appropriate musculature with exercises such as: forearm hip extension and cook hip lift.

When learning the hip hinge, it is important to start with the fundamentals and progress appropriately. That means learning the proper pattern against a wall to teach neutral spine and only hip motion is key. This entry level variation is what we will focus our attention on in this article. Don’t be fooled by it’s simplistic appearance. Due to poor posture and faulty firing patterns, it can be challenging to execute this movement correctly. And, it’s value cannot be overstated.

How to perform this movement:

Stand 6-12 inches away from the wall
Place the pinky side of your hands into the angled crease of your hip joint
With minimal bend in the knees, drive the hips back to touch the wall
Ensure a neutral spine position with no increase in knee angle as you lower forward
Lower until the spine is parallel to the floor
At the lowest position, contract the glutes and drive the hips forward
Raise back up to the starting position
Repeat for the desired repetitions

Note: Posture is essential in this movement. Maintaining a neutral spine position will reduce force on the lumbar spine discs and musculature once you progress to the weighted versions. Also, keep the knees in only 10-15 degrees of flexion as you complete the movement. They are not allowed to bend more as you lower down, but should straighten as the hips drive completely forward at the top of the movement.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Exercise of the Month: Plank with Hip Extension

June 3, 2015 · by Garrett McLaughlin

| Article written on June 3rd, 2015 at 9:00am | Follow Garrett on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram |

The plank is an exercise that has lasted the test of time. But recently, I have had a change of heart about this exercise. Since starting at Quest and learning more about the consistency of programming, I realize it is often difficult to intermix exercises that are timed and exercises that use repetitions. Especially when there is a need to time one athlete while spotting another. Don’t get me wrong, I still love all planks and their variations. But, adding a small change that allows you to count repetitions can be worthwhile.

FIrst off, let’s talk about the traditional plank… The main goal of the plank is to maintain a neutral core position and rigid torso, as well as prevent extension (arching) in the spine. By doing so we need to create and maintain stability all the way from the toes through the head. When we lift one leg off the ground into hip extension, we are causing a rotational stress throughout the body. This increases the demand on the core, to not only prevent extension, but rotation as well. Adding to it’s difficulty and also benefits once it is mastered.

–> Click here to watch a video demonstration of this exercise <–

How to perform this exercise:

Set-up in a traditional plank position
Elbows should be under the shoulders and toes under the ankles
Raise the hips so they are level with the feet and shoulders
Once you have a solid plank hold, lift one leg off the ground
Make sure the knee stays straight with no bend and the body doesn’t rotate
Lower that leg back down and repeat with the other leg
Complete for the desired repetitions

Note: Perfecting the traditional plank is the best starting point. Once you can hold this for 30-45 seconds, hip extension can be added. During the exercise, as you raise the leg it is important to make sure the body doesn’t rotate and hip drops.

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

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